Chapter Text
Chris was at his breaking point. No one told him anything anymore, he couldn't see his Buck, and his dad had been weird for months. He just wanted everything to go back to normal. So, he asked his dad again when he could see his Buck and got the same response of "Sorry, bud, but Buck is busy right now. Maybe another time." He couldn't take it anymore. The false promises, the lying. So, as any 8-year-old would, he took matters into his own hands. If his Dad wouldn't take him to Buck, well then, he would just have to take himself.
Eddie had just come back from a 24 shift and was very tired. The last call had been a three-story house fire and he had only just managed to get out the family's dogs before the roof collapsed. He went straight home, gave Chris a kiss on the forehead and told him he was going to sleep. He waited for a response before looking over at his son, who was glaring at him. Oh yeah, Chris was giving him the silent treatment after he yet again refused to take him to Buck. He'll just have to deal with that when he wakes up, and hopefully calm Chris down enough that he can go to one of those fights Lena had shown him. Just thinking about what Buck had done made his blood boil. Why would his son want to go see someone who abandoned him anyway? Eddie quickly stopped that train of thought before he got even more angry and stormed off into his room.
Chris knew that his dad was going to be tired after his 24, and he knew that he was going to sleep for at least 8 hours, giving him plenty of time to go find his Buck. So, with his school bag packed with all the essentials he would need for his day with Buck and some money he borrowed from his Dad's wallet for the bus fare, Chris was ready to go.
He quickly made it down to the bus stop at the end of the street and waited on the bench until the bus got there. Luckily, he planned well, and the bus got there only five minutes later. The only flaw was when he realized it was the wrong bus. This bus took him to the heart of L.A. and almost two hours away from Buck's house. After the hour-long bus ride, poor Chris was so tired and just wanted his Buck. The only problem was he didn't know when the right bus would come. So, he waited, and waited, and waited for 2 hours until this nice lady came over to him.
"Are you lost sweetie?" She asked.
"Yes. I was just trying to get home to my Buck, but I took the wrong bus and somehow ended up here. Do you think you could help me?" Chris said, puppy dog eyes filled with unshed tears.
"Oh, of course sweetheart! Do you know what bus will take you to him?" The kind lady asked.
"Yeah! It's bus number 4!" Chris said.
"Oh, I'm also catching that bus! It should be here soon. I'll sit with you, so you don't miss your stop, yeah? My name's Lillian, what's yours?" Lillian asked.
"Thank you so much, ma'am! I'm Chris!" Chris said, showing his big grin.
"Oh, it is no problem at all, young man. You quite remind me of my own little grandson, and I would never let him wander all on his own." Lillian said.
"I'll tell you a secret," he says, beckoning her closer and whispering, "My Daddy says the same thing, but I just had to go check on my Buck because he's all lonely without us."
"How sweet you are! Does your Daddy know you are here?" Lillian asks, concerned.
"Oh, um, yeah of course. Plus, my Nana is the best Sergeant, so I know I'm safe!" Chris said, excitedly.
"I'm sure you are, sugar. Oh look, here's the bus now. Are you ready to go see your Buck?" Lillian asked.
"Yes!" Chris cheered.
He gathered up all his things and followed the nice lady onto the bus, sitting next to her and taking out the book he and Buck had been reading before Buck stopped coming over. The two sat in silence for the two-hour bus ride, the nice lady sneaking glances at Chris. Knowing that he is finally going to see his Buck makes the ride feel much faster, and when they finally reach the stop, he's a ball full of energy, grinning so big that his cheeks start to hurt.
"Thank you so much, ma'am!" Chris says, putting his bag on and waving goodbye to the lady as the bus stops.
"Of course, sugar. You get on safely to your Buck, yeah?" Lillian replied.
Chris just smiles and nods in response, too excited to say anything else. He quickly makes his way off the bus and starts his way to Buck's loft, which is right across the street.
Lillian was a little concerned. Why would an 8-year-old be all alone in L.A. looking for whoever "Buck" is, especially one who has a sergeant as a Nana. And he definitely didn't seem certain that his dad knew where he was. Well, better safe than sorry, she thought as she dialed 9-1-1.
"Hi. This is 9-1-1, what is your emergency?" Maddie asked as she answered the latest call.
"Yes, hi. My name is Lillian Wilder and I just wanted to report a little boy wandering around all alone."
"Okay, did you happen to get his name? What did he look like?" Maddie asked.
"Well, he was around 8 ish I'd say, wearing a yellow shirt and blue pants with red crutches. Oh, and he said his name was Chris." Lillian replied.
"Okay, um wait. Did you just say his name was Chris? Did he have curly brown hair?" Maddie asked, frantically.
"Um, yes. How did you know that?" Lillian asked, "Are you a friend of his Nana's, the sergeant?"
"Yeah, yeah you could say that. Um, where was the last place you saw him?" Maddie asked.
"Um, well he just got off the bus by an apartment building and said he was looking for his Buck." Lillian replied.
"Oh, oh thank God. Thank you so much ma'am, I'll report this right now." Maddie said, relieved that he was with Buck.
"Yes, of course. Glad I could help!" Lillian said, hanging up.
Eddie woke up with a start after only 5 hours of sleep because something felt wrong. He couldn't pinpoint it exactly, but he knew that something was wrong. He couldn't smell any smoke, his body felt okay, and he couldn't hear anything. Wait, if he couldn't hear anything, where was Chris? Even if he was being given the silent treatment, Chris always has the television or a video game on during days like these. But Eddie couldn't hear any of them. He quickly jumped out of bed, searching the house for any trace of his son. He searched two times, no room left unsearched, but his son was nowhere to be found. With nothing left to do he quickly grabbed his phone and started calling all his friends, even Abuela and Pepa and asked if he was with them. If he had somehow forgotten that Chris was going to a play date with Denny, or Bobby had come to pick him up to let Eddie sleep longer. None of them knew where he was, but all promised to search with him, starting at all his favorite places. The zoo, the park, the aquarium. In the 30 minutes it had taken to call all his friends, he had somehow missed a call from Buck. He ignored it though; his son was missing why would he want to talk to a traitor when something much more important was happening. Eddie grabbed his keys and flew out of the house, driving around the neighborhood, looking for any trace of his missing son.